Rice falls to Tulsa despite career-best 30 from Jackson

By Joseph Duarte |
March 9, 2013
| Updated: March 9, 2013 10:57pm

Nearing the end of his four-year career, Rice guard Tamir Jackson offered one final lesson Saturday night.

Jackson scored a career-high 30 points in his final home game, but the scrappy Owls' late rally fell short in a 77-71 loss to Tulsa at Tudor Fieldhouse.

"I think the guys were really supportive to see Tamir, who was really struggling in the first half, come out in the second half and never lose faith and never stop trying," Rice coach Ben Braun said. "That's a good lesson for your team. No matter how you think things are going you're never out of it."

Down by 20 points in the second half, the Owls fought back as Jackson and sophomore guard Julian DeBose sparked a late rally that pulled the Owls within four points with 27 seconds remaining. Jackson and DeBose combined for 39 of Rice's 47 points in the game.Rice (5-25), which finished the regular season with 10 consecutive losses, will be the No. 11 seed and face sixth-seeded Houston at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the opening round of the Conference USA men's basketball tournament.

During the first half, Jackson struggled from the floor, missing eight of 11 shots for six points. Jackson had 24 points in the second half. The Owls scored 52 points after halftime.

DeBose added 17 points in the game, and Austin Ramljak had five 3-pointers for 15 points."This game typifies who (Tamir) is as a person, not just as a player," Braun said. "A lot of guys would have gotten frustrated and would have checked out. He's never checked out his whole life. He fought back and willed his team to come back."

After missing their first 11 3-point attempts, the Owls finished 12-of-34 from beyond the arc. Ramljak hit consecutive 3-pointers, and Jackson made a layup and free throw to pull the Owls within 73-66 with 57.7 seconds remaining.

Tulsa (16-14) went the final 2:26 without a field goal, allowing the Owls to make a run in the closing minute.

DeBose made a layup and foul with 27.7 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 75-71, but the Owls would get no closer en route to their 15th consecutive loss to the Golden Hurricane.

Jackson, who also had seven rebounds and five assists, exited the game to a standing ovation with 3.5 seconds remaining.

"It meant a lot to me because they came out and supported me," Jackson said of the applause from the crowd of 2,018. "I wanted to thank them instead of them congratulating me."

Four Tulsa players finished in double figures, led by 15 apiece from Scottie Haralson and D'Andre Wright.

Rice got off to a slow start, hitting the first field goal of the game before going scoreless the next seven minutes.